Alex cleared his throat once and failed to find a new topic that did not circle back to the last one. Erica looked at the stacks nearest her and read nothing.
Silence gathered for a count of five, then ten. Alex broke it with work.
“I hear there’s a candle count later,” he said, too practical, almost an apology.
“I will bring it,” she said.
He nodded.
The small movement felt strange after the words that had come before it. He went to the window and checked the latch again. It would give if he wanted it to. He did not want it to.
He came back and set a chair a polite distance from the table, then put it back where it had been.
“Ye could shout,” she said lightly. “Call for Calum. He would come with a grin and a key.”
“And the household would hear,” he said. “They would love it too much.”
“Aye,” she said. “They would.”
He glanced at her mouth and away, caught himself, and picked up the book he had already straightened. He then set it down again. She looked at his hands and found they were steady. He looked at hers and found the same.
“Bettie led ye?” she asked, her tone easy.
“Aye,” he said. “With Calum as me witness and nay help at all.”
“Katie fetched me,” she said. “She said it was urgent.”
“That sounds right,” he said. The corner of his mouth moved, then set.
Could anything be more awkward about this situation?
“Do ye think they will come back soon?” she asked.
“When they have decided we have learned our lesson,” he said.
“And what is the lesson?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “That I shouldnae try to outflank two wee generals.”
She smiled. “A wise rule.”
He looked at her smile as if he had not meant to, then looked away as if he had meant to do that all along. He opened his mouth, then closed it. His jaw worked and relaxed. He rested his fingertips on the back of the chair nearest him and did not pull it out.
“They mean well,” she said.
“Aye,” he answered. “They always do.”
They remained silent for a few more minutes, and Alex could tell just from the tension between them that this was going to be a long hour.
Great. Just great.
The silence held for more than an hour. Dust hung in the late light and settled again.
Erica shifted her weight and let the silence continue to test her. If Alex wasn’t angry about this little stunt, then she could express patience as well. Hopefully, they would run out of things to say, and he would find a way to unlock the door.
There was nothing they needed to say to each other, and that was the worst part. Erica didn’t know the limit of what they could say based on the situation. Could she ask him for certain parts of his history? Would he respond without acting strange?
“What happened to their maither?” she asked carefully.
